Secret Invasion could be the reassuring win that Marvel needs right now
Secret Invasion's official trailer has landed online – and I'm confident that the new show will be the reassuring win that Marvel needs right now.
The Marvel Phase 5 series, which debuts on Disney Plus on June 21 (and confirms our report about Marvel accidentally leaking Secret Invasion's release date ahead of schedule), will be the first Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) show released this year. With its launch date just under three months away, then, it's about time we were treated to some new footage.
Pleasingly, Secret Invasion's latest teaser is packed full of new clips to pore over. Whisper it quietly, but it seems like it's going to be one of the best Disney Plus shows around, too. Check out the official trailer below:
A brief plot synopsis was released alongside the trailer, which reads: "In Marvel Studios’ new series Secret Invasion, set in the present day MCU, Nick Fury learns of a clandestine invasion of Earth by a faction of shapeshifting Skrulls. Fury joins his allies, including Everett Ross, Maria Hill, and the Skrull Talos, who has made a life for himself on Earth. Together, they race against time to thwart an imminent Skrull invasion and save humanity."
Tonally, Secret Invasion is giving me (and plenty of other MCU fans) similar vibes to Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Given the duo's espionage and conspiracy thriller sensibilities, it's an easy comparison to make. But, considering that The Winter Soldier is one of the more well-received Marvel films in the studio's 15-year history – read our best Marvel movies ranked guide while you're here – it might seem a stretch to suggest Secret Invasion will be as good, if not better, than Cap's second solo outing.
For me, though, Secret Invasion has the potential to be as tense, action-packed, and narratively distorting as The Winter Soldier.
It's got all the necessary ingredients. First, a secret society of Skrulls that's looking to supersede humanity by masquerading as the very race they want to overthrow. Secondly, a seemingly out-of-his-depth Nick Fury who is going to be second-guessing every decision he makes in this six-part series. Next, plenty of political paranoia as, thanks to the Skrulls' shapeshifting abilities, the show's human heroes won't know who they can trust and/or if those in positions of power are actually human or not. And, with explosions aplenty – both physical and those of the suspense-filled conversation variety – there are bound to be major ramifications for the MCU, based on what plays out from a story perspective.
Until Captain America: The Winter Soldier was released in 2014, Marvel had safely stuck to its genre lane, with its movies entrenched in the superhero and action categories. The Winter Soldier proved that Marvel could (and should) broaden its scope and ground some of the best superhero movies in different genres. Captain America 2 showed audiences would lap this kind of content up – and if Secret Invasion is as gritty, foreboding, and twisting as its trailers make out, we're in for a real treat.
That said, even if Secret Invasion wows us – and I'm planting my flag in the sand right now to say it will – will it have enough to usurp Loki season 1, WandaVision, and Moon Knight (the latter being my favorite MCU Disney Plus series so far) in people's minds?
It's hard to judge based on a two-minute trailer, but it certainly has the potential to do so; and if Secret Invasion is a success, it could be the big relief-inducing win Marvel needs right now.
Make no mistake, the Disney subsidiary is going through the wringer at the moment. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania failed to get Phase 5 off to the best possible start, with the Ant-Man threequel failing to deliver both critically and commercially (read our Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania review for more on what we thought). With Marvel's entire Phase 4 lineup labeled as a mixed bag, Quantumania has only heightened suggestions that the MCU isn't what it was.
That's not all that Marvel has had to contend with in recent months. The studio has reportedly had to revise its output of movies and TV shows, with Marvel potentially only releasing two Disney Plus shows, plus three movies, in 2023. That's a rumored plan it'll carry forward into the next few years, too. Add in the apparent firing of longstanding Marvel executive Victoria Alonso over breach of contract allegations, plus the arrest of Kang the Conqueror actor Jonathan Majors over domestic abuse allegations, and Marvel is having to fight off multiple crises at once for the first time in its history.
Secret Invasion, as well as Guardians of the Galaxy 3 (which arrives on May 5), has the potential to alleviate some of the negative press aimed in Marvel's direction in the coming months. The studio needs one (or more) of its projects to win back support from its feverish fanbase, prove that it's still capable of dominating the box office, and capture audiences' attention on the small screen. Marvel will hope, then, that Secret Invasion *ahem* invades as many TV screens as possible later this year.
Secret Invasion stars Samuel L Jackson, Ben Mendolsohn, Cobie Smulders, Martin Freeman, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Charlene Woodard, Killian Scott, Emilia Clarke, Olivia Colman, and Don Cheadle. The TV series launches on Disney Plus on Wednesday, June 21.
For more MCU-based coverage, find out how to watch the Marvel movies in order. Additionally, read our guides on Loki season 2 and The Marvels.
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